Has anyone done the Community Baboon Sanctuary?

[cruisinqt]

I haven't seen any reviews of the Community Baboon Sanctuary, has anyone done it recently? I know there aren't any actual baboons anymore, but there are supposed to be some pretty tame howler monkeys. I thought it might be educational as well as interesting for my 6 and 8 year old kids. Do you get to interact with the monkeys and wildlife? Is the walk thru the jungle not too bad for kids? :confused: I'm looking for something to do with my children while in Belize and am having a hard time of it. We usually hang out at a nearby beach for a while, but Belize has no local beaches. And I figured if I had to take a long ride out to one of the beaches on one of the cayes, I might as well go on an interesting excursion. The community Baboon Sanctuary sounds interesting but I'm not getting much feedback on it. It doesn't sound like something many people do, and that worries me. I don't want to spend a bunch of money on something and then find out it's not that interesting.:(

[saraheg77]

Hi - I didn't go from a cruise, but was on vacation in Belize and went to the baboon sanctuary. The mosquitos were very bad, so if you go take lots of repellent. The man who was our guide took us over to the sanctuary... it was kinda umm... I'm not sure the word... we had to kinda wander over someone's back yard to get to where the monkeys were... he led us through and we did get to see some monkeys very close up, but I think it just depends on where the monkeys are at the time you go. How much does it cost from the ship? If it's too much, it probably isn't worth it. However, the Belize zoo was quite fun if that is an option. Feel free to email me with any other questions! I did several things in and around belize. Oh, and have some pictures here: http://www.geocities.com/saraheg77/belize.html

Sarah

[BobbieSu]

Great pictures Sarah, It makes me want to go!. Belize is one place that part of a day as a shore excursion is not going to be enough.

 

I was wondering if you took a water taxi to San Pedro and how long you stayed there and how the trip by taxi was, and which beach you were at, um and anything else you could tell me about San Pedro.

 

Thanks, Su

[saraheg77]

Nope, part of a day won't be enough!

 

Yes, we took an early water taxi to San Pedro (takes about an hour and a half) and it was a fun ride, but your face gets a bit numb from the wind and be sure to wear sunscreen! We just stayed until the last water taxi back that day which I think was 3:30 (pretty early). We just wandered around the shops on the main street where the water taxi lets off and had lunch at a fun little restaurant that the guys at the info center recommended where you were right out on the beach. We walked up to a hotel (that we were told about) and went through and used their beach chairs and just lounged around for a bit. We didn't do a whole lot of research about Ambergris before we went but one of my friends did go do a little snorkeling at the beach we were on, but she said there wasn't much to see. I am sure there are better places to snorkel. Sorry I'm not much help there! We wished we had stayed a night there so we could see a bit more of Ambergris! Good luck!

 

Sarah :)

[BobbieSu]

Thanks Sarah,

 

Your day on Ambergris sounds like what I'm thinking about doing only within the time constraints of the ships docking. Did you book ahead for the water taxi or just show up? Are they big enough to handle all those wanting a ride?

 

Susan

[saraheg77]

No, we didn't book ahead... you just purchase tickets there... and we weren't coming off a cruise ship, but it seemed pretty busy and they seemed to be able to accommodate as many as would be there. Here's more about the taxi and it's schedule!

 

http://www.goambergriscaye.com/watertaxi.html

[BobbieSu]

Thanks So much,

 

Su

[sns]

I have the baboon sanctuary booked with Princess in January. I'm not rethinking this excursion. I have no idea what else to do because I was looking forward to this.

[saraheg77]

sns,

If you are looking forward to it, I'm sure you will enjoy it. The guide was an interesting character and it was fun to wander around and see monkeys not in a zoo, but out in the wild. Just be sure to take good, strong mosquito repellent and you will be fine! Have fun!

Sarah

[funpinkard]

I was looking to do the Ruins and the Zoo.Does the Zoo takes more time to do?

Or the Baboon Sanctuary? Informations they all located on different roads.

Do you know which is nearest to the Ruins of Altun Ha,Zoo or the Baboon Sanctuary.

R.P. :)

[saraheg77]

Hi there! I didn't go to Altun Ha, but they are north of Belize City... however, you would still have to come back to the Western Highway and east to get to both the Zoo and the Baboon Sanctuary. The Baboon Sanctuary is a turn to the North before you get to the zoo, but it would be very close to the same time to get to either. The zoo would take a little longer to explore than the Baboon Sanctuary because there is more to see. But I would say it isn't a great difference. You could probably do either one... just depends on if you want to see some monkeys in the wild or more of the Belize animals in the zoo! Feel free to ask me anything else! Oh, and my friends and I did have a bit of a hard time finding the baboon sanctuary. Some of the signs were confusing depending on which direction you were coming from. The zoo is easy to get to right on the main Western Highway. Good luck!

Sarah :)

[funpinkard]

Thank you so much for your information Sarah.were you driving your self around? sounds like you were in a rental.If it was a rental.What was the cost? We have 6 in my family.We may have 2 more.

R.P.

[saraheg77]

You're welcome, R.P.! Yes, we rented a car through Budget at the Belize airport. I booked it online through either cheaptickets.com or yahoo travel. I think the cost was about $450 for a week for a small SUV (Suzuki Jimney... yes, JimNey)? It would have held only 4 people. See pics:

http://www.geocities.com/saraheg77/belize.html

 

If you check prices online, remember that it will show up in Belize dollars which are twice as much as US dollars! Good luck!

 

Sarah :)

[funpinkard]

Thanks again Sarah for your informations.I am cruising on Carnival Elation.I will be in Belize Jan 13 2005 for 8 hrs.I don't think it's a good idea using a rental car.I don't want to miss my Ship.

Your Album was great,Makes me can't wait to go on my cruise.

R.P. :)

[hadleys9538]

Our family went to Belize, not on a cruise, but stayed for a week. We had an incredible time, and actually stayed on Ambergris Caye in a hut on the beach at Ramon's Village. Ambergris Caye was fun; however, we flew back over to the mainland almost daily because there were so many fun things to do over there. We went to the Baboon Sanctuary. I remember cutting across a field and going into the rainforest, and it wasn't long before our guide found a family of howler monkeys. I actually have a picture of one of the babies reaching down from the tree and touching our son's hand. It was really great being with them in the wild, and the guide pointed out many interesting things during our hike about the flora, etc. The zoo is pretty interesting as well. I think either of those options would be enjoyable to most everybody. I did want to say that we didn't have a mosquito problem at all when we were there, so maybe it varies depending upon the time of year.:confused: I don't know.

 

Any of the options going into the rainforest are great. We really enjoyed going to Altun Ha, as well as the the mountain pine forest, and we took a tour through the mangroves as well. We ended up seeing many different animals/birds during our stay, including tarantulas, lots of bats, etc. Our son considers it one of his favorite trips, and we've taken him all over the world.

 

Personally, if you have children, I think the options over on Belize mainland would be much more interesting to them than a day at Ambergris Caye's beach. The beach there is alright, however, there are prettier beaches in the Caribbean, and the activities on the mainland are pretty unique, adventurous, and pretty much right down a child's alley. IMO Cheryl